Fall rolled on and Quinn tried to put her bad luck behind her. She dove into work projects and focused on promotions. She became very close with her boss and CEO after many long nights at the office. It paid off and soon Quinn had a nice padding in her savings account and started to plan renovations for her house, but decided to wait on that since the holidays were rolling up and she wanted to throw a Thanksgiving party for her friends. She did her shopping and since all the leaves were falling and turning beautiful colors, Quinn decided to walk home. She was on the home stretch and her arms were getting tired from hauling all the food when she saw a familiar face.
“Hey rain girl,” he said, grinning at her.
“Oh.. hey. Leo right?” Quinn replied, adjusting the bags in her hands. She was embarrassed and was tired of carrying the groceries and just wanted to bolt.
“Do you need some help with that?” he asked, reaching for a bag.
“Uh. I don’t think so, but thanks for the offer,” she said, walking past him, trying to forget he even existed.
She walked for a moment, but she could tell he was following her. What gives? She hadn’t seen him in months since she made an ass of herself and kissed him and she sure as hell didn’t want to be around him now. She kept walking, hoping he would just give up, until she was a block away from her house. She stopped and then dropped her bags in the yard and turned around.
“Look. I don’t know why you are following me or why you even want to talk to me after what happened, but I’m very uncomfortable and wish you would just stop,” she snapped at him.
He just looked at her quizzically. “Quinn. I think you misunderstood what I meant that morning. It’s not that I wasn’t interested, I just wasn’t interested after you dated three horrible guys in one weekend. I didn’t want to be the fourth,” he said, stepping closer to her.
“Look Leo. I’d rather not get into this again. It was really embarrassing for me, ok? I was in a bad place and I’m over it now, but being around you reminds me of that night and I’m not ok with that,” she said, grabbing the bags again and heading to the front door.
He annoyingly held it open for her and she glared at him, but was happy to not have to struggle into the house. She started getting pots and pans out and he was still just there, like a puppy waiting to play.
“You could chop some onions,” Quinn said, pointing with a knife towards a cutting board.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, dicing away.
She watched with awe as he expertly cut the onion into a perfect dice.
“How did you learn to do that?” she asked, “I always end up with a mess when I cut vegetables.”
“Eh. Just something I’ve picked up over the years,” he said.
They worked together in silence for a couple hours.
“I guess I should probably get outta here,” Leo said after the turkey went into the oven.
“Oh.. just when I was about to invite you to dinner,” Quinn laughed, secretly relieved he was about to go.
“I was just going to pop home and grab what’s cooking in my oven!” he said, laughing.
Dammit.
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Quinn loved having the house full of people. Everyone brought really delicious food. Salad, turkey, decadent, deep-fried desserts, and Leo (trying to outdo everybody, apparently) brought lobster.
Everyone stuffed themselves full of good food before dancing the night away! Quinn was so happy with her first Thanksgiving in Twinbrook.
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As the night was winding down and everyone was leaving with the leftovers, Quinn found herself alone with Leo. They stared at each other for a while, Christmas music playing in the background. Quinn felt ridiculous like a teenager, palms sweating.
“Well..” Quinn said, shrugging, “thanks for coming. Your lobster was delicious.”
“Come here you,” Leo said, crossing the room to her.
“Huh?”
“Shut up.”
He pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers. She felt like lightening was bouncing through her body. She was afraid to let go in case he was going to pull away.
Quinn halfheartedly kissed him and then he did pull away.
“What’s wrong?” Leo asked.
She searched his face for some reason not to do this, but came up empty handed. She lunged for him, clinging to him. It had been so long since she felt like someone had genuine interest in her and she let go. She let go of all the bad feelings from Donny, her bad dates and her insecurities.
She felt him lead her back towards the bedroom and normally, she would fight it, but for some reason, she really didn’t care. She wanted him so badly and they almost tripped over each other.
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Quinn thought she was going crazy, but then she heard her doorbell again. What time was it? She crawled out of bed, trying not to disturb Leo. She noted how cute he looked while he slept, but was disturbed by the doorbell for the third time. Dammit, it had to still be the middle of the night.
She opened the door to see her pregnant boss, Jenni, staring at her, in visible pain.
“Jenni, what’s going on? What time is it?” Quinn asked, confused.
“I don’t know, maybe 11. I was on my way home when I started to feel contractions. I tried to get home, but realized I forgot my house keys here. I need help, Quinn!” she said, bending over and grabbing her stomach.
“Ok, ok. What do you need me to do?” Quinn asked.
“Can you find my keys and take me to the hospital? You can drive stick, right?” Jenni asked, looking around the room frantically.
“Oh god. No,” Quinn said, starting to worry.
“Ugh god, it’s ok. Can you please just come with me? My husband is out of town and I’m scared. I really can’t be alone, Quinn. I know I’m your boss, but you’re my best friend. You’re the only one I want there right now,” Jenni begged.
Quinn hated to see her in pain, so she dressed quickly and got in the car. She felt bad leaving Leo there alone without saying anything, but she had to be there for her friend.
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At 9:46 am, Jenni gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Sylvester. They both left the hospital exhausted, Quinn offering to catch a cab home so Jenni could get home and rest.
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She finally got in the door at almost noon, absolutely drained. That’s when she remember Leo. Shit. Was he still here? Quinn looked around and checked in the bedroom, but no Leo. For some reason she felt sick to her stomach. She walked into the kitchen and saw a note taped to the fridge.
Dear Quinn. I had a great time last night, but apparently you didn’t feel the same. You could have woken me up and told me to leave instead of fleeing in the middle of the night. I didn’t know I was that repulsive. Don’t worry, I won’t be bothering you anymore. My contract is up and I was considering renewing, but I decided to move back to my hometown. I was looking for a reason to change my mind, but there’s nothing in Twinbrook for me.
-L
Quinn sat down at the dining room table, reading and re-reading the note. She felt hot tears spring to her eyes. She had no idea he was so close to moving and that last night was the last time she would ever see him. She felt like an idiot for snubbing him and crawled into bed with the note, clinging to the pillow he used and sobbed herself to sleep.
